


Day 19: Formal Wear

by thejammys



Series: 30 Day OTP Challenge [5]
Category: Ask the Odd Family from Asgard, The Avengers (2012)
Genre: Erik to the rescue, Fluff, M/M, Sad, Tumblr: ask-the-odd-family-from-asgard, loki loves his babies
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-14
Updated: 2013-01-14
Packaged: 2017-11-25 12:35:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,558
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/638966
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thejammys/pseuds/thejammys
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Loki is anxious about an upcoming trip to Asgard, so Erik steps up to save the day.</p><p>Based on this comic: http://ask-the-odd-family-from-asgard.tumblr.com/post/35749624836/loki-never-questioned-his-internet-time-again</p>
            </blockquote>





	Day 19: Formal Wear

**Author's Note:**

> :3 thank you for the love

oooooooo

 

One week ago, Thor had announced that the family would soon be taking a trip to Asgard. He had kingly business to attend to there and Odin had never met his grandchildren so the thunder god reasoned that everyone should accompany him.

 

Now Erik was not there for the initial discussion between his parents and could only imagine how it had gone, but he did pay close attention to his parent’s demeanors when his father shared the news with him and his siblings.

 

His dad had looked tense, like he was forcing a smile and might have been trying to convince himself, more than the children, that this trip was a good idea.

 

His mother had looked miserable. Loki had sat on the couch holding Ragni close to his chest with red, downcast eyes and a slumped posture.

 

Erik knew that if he asked his parents what the deal was, he would not be told the truth. Certain matters needed to be kept from the children (although their sex life did not fit that criteria, apparently) and he was more likely to be fed some crap about his mother’s ‘strained relationship’ with Asgard.

 

But Erik knew that wasn’t the case.

 

He had his suspicions about what was really going on based on little things he had heard and picked up over the years. The ten year old knew that his mother had a _very_ tense relationship with his grandfather and that it was he who likely sat at the root of his mother’s despair.

 

Erik had also heard his mother sobbing to his father, the night after Thor announced their travel plans, about his fear that his children would be taken from him. He had paused outside his parents door after he heard his father yelling and his mother begging – something that _never_ happened.

 

 _“Thor, please! He is going to take my children away!”_ his mother had sobbed with such excruciating vulnerability that it made Erik doubly uncomfortable (for he didn’t like his mother to be crying at all).

 

 _“No, he is not! Our children are safe!”_ his father had bellowed back, somewhat unsympathetically, in Erik’s opinion.

 

_“He took the others away! He took my babies from me and he will do it again!”_

 

Now Erik had figured out _long ago_ that his mother had other children he didn’t share with his father. He didn’t know their names, or what happened to them and why he had never met them – but he did know they existed. He knew that the mobile hanging above Ragni’s crib, the same mobile that had hung above him and his sister as well, was homage to those children. He also knew that the bedtime story his mother told about the 'lost children' was about his stolen babies. Most importantly, he knew that whatever had happened to them absolutely wrecked his mother’s heart.

 

Until the argument he overheard, Erik had never known that it was his grandfather who was responsible for whatever happened to his half-siblings.

 

Erik couldn’t think of any reason why someone would want to take away another person’s babies; but he did know that his mother was not favored highly on Asgard, especially by his grandfather, and he suspected that perhaps Odin didn’t think Loki a worthy parent. Perhaps he took those children away because he didn’t trust the God of Mischief to do a good job raising them (as though he were some expert).

 

It was only a theory, but it was all Erik had to go on since he couldn’t actually _ask_ his parents about the true circumstances – and it was enough for him to build a plan on.

 

He never wanted to hear his mother sob like that again and if there was something he could do to prevent it then he was going to.

 

Erik figured that if he made a _really, really_ good impression on Odin then the old grump would realize what a fantastic job Loki was doing. Even though Erik’s general attitude towards his parents methods was to scowl and sass them, he _loved_ his mom and dad and would be damned if some old fart with an eye patch was going to try and separate his family.

 

So he went to work. He read his mother’s tomes on history, asked his father what the state of current political affairs was (although Thor knew embarrassingly little on the subject for the _king_ ) and wrote and memorized tiny speeches that he cross referenced with a thesaurus.

 

Odin was going to be blown away with what a smart, mature future king his son’s were raising and Erik’s mom would never have to worry about losing his children again.

 

(Erik had also decided that once he was king he was going to figure out what had happened to his half-siblings and make sure his mom got them back, but that was an issue for the future).

 

As the days drew closer to their departure, Loki grew sicker and sicker. He couldn’t sleep, he wasn’t eating, his eyes were constantly red and cried out and he would not let his children out of his sight. Erik wished he could tell his mother that it was going to be okay and that he had a plan – but he feared that his mother would grow even more upset if he learned that his child was more aware of the situation than he should be. So, to show his solidarity, he allowed his mother to give him long hugs without sighing.

 

It was the best he could do for now.

 

But it wasn’t enough. On the morning they were meant to leave, Loki completely lost it. While he had done an _alright_ job the previous week of making sure the children didn’t see him cry – this morning he fell to pieces right in the middle of the living room and started begging his husband not to make them go.

 

He had Ragni curled in one arm, although the baby was asleep and missed the tears, Valki curled up on his side – and she was watching television and apparently a _god like_ gift for tuning out everything around her – and Loki’s other arm was wrapped so tightly around Erik that he actually had trouble breathing.

 

 _“No, no, no!”_ his mother had sobbed and pleaded, _“He’s going to take my children from me!”_ and squeezed Erik even tighter.

 

 _“Mom, plz I can’t breathe-”_ he had tried to reason (because really now, if his mother accidentally suffocated him before he got a chance to make a good impression then that _really_ undid all of Erik’s hard work and sent the complete _opposite_ message of ‘yes I’m a competent parent’).

 

 _“Loki, Odin is NOT going to take them!”_  his father had roared before stepping over to release Loki’s hold on Erik and force his husband on his feet.

 

Valki took the dislodging in stride and just rolled over onto her side to continue watching television as Erik took a few steps back to be clear of his father’s sudden outburst.

 

 _“How can you possibly know that!?”_  his mom had cried as he took the arm that had been around his oldest child and used it to curl Ragni closer.

 

 _“Because they’re mine, too,”_ his father had said in a much quieter tone.

 

His parents exchanged a look and Erik actually _saw_ his mother’s heart break.

 

His father was probably right, Odin was not going to take away the children of the king – and from what Erik understood, his grandfather actually _liked_ his father.

 

But it was still kind of a horrible thing to say. Loki didn’t matter enough on his own? Well, clearly not since Odin had apparently pulled this crap before with Loki’s other children.

 

After a tense moment, the trickster nodded silently and took Erik’s hand to gather his formal clothes.

 

oooooooo

 

So far, Asgard was impressive. The Bifrost landing was connected to an _enormous_ rainbow bridge that glittered in the afternoon sun and led to the city beyond; a fucking _huge_ city. Erik would have been amazed were he not paying such close attention to staying on guard. He owed it to his mom not to mess this up.

 

Odin was kind of scary looking with his haggard beard and his gold eye patch that just _hung_ in place. The fact that he was holding Gungnir did nothing to ease Erik’s mind either. Even his little sister looked perturbed from her perch in his father’s arms as she eyed their grandfather warily. It was a good thing Ragni was still asleep in his mother’s arms or Erik was sure his little brother would be crying.

 

“So, father, after a rather difficult morning,” his father began, “We have arrived.”

 

The former king of Asgard cleared his throat and sized the family up. “Oh well nice to see you again my ~~incestuous~~ sons,” he replied, making sure to disparage their marriage from the get go.

 

Erik didn’t like this man, but he couldn't focus on it at the moment - for now was his time to shine. He raised his tiny arm into the air and asked, “Permission to speak, Odin sir?”

 

His grandfather’s eyes widened in surprise and Erik could feel his mother tense up next to him. He wished he could grab his mother’s hand and say ‘I got this, mom’ but he needed to play this carefully.

 

“Oh, um…yes?” his grandfather answered with a bewildered expression.

 

Erik wanted to say “Former kings of Asgard shouldn’t say ‘ _um’,”_ but he didn’t because that would be bad. Instead, he took a deep breath and called on Prepared Speech #1.

 

“I believe that it is the responsibility of the reign to amend itself of the barbarous behavior it has exhibited to other worlds through ravishment and conquest of less fortunate realms,” he stated in a smooth, clear voice. His mother had gone rigid next to him, but Erik wasn’t finished. He took another deep breath and continued,

 

“Indubitably, peace and the true concept of ‘eternity’ can only be achieved by condemning the promotion of war and uniting the kingdom with those races which we do not understand, but should learn to in time,” he finished.

 

He hoped that his mother was not too shocked by his words to miss their content. Erik had carefully planned out a way to call his grandfather on the bullshit he had pulled as king and the way he spoke of Frostgiants. He knew that his mother’s insecurities about his true parentage were _directly_ Odin’s fault for raising him to believe they were some race of monsters.

 

Now when Erik was too hot and no amount of fans or air conditioning would do, mama Frostgiant was like a loving refrigerator that hugged him. Granted, it had only happened one time and that was recently, since Erik had only seen his mother’s ‘true form’ a few months previously, but he intended to ask for the hugging icebox again.

 

His grandfather sputtered for a moment and then smiled. “Oh my…erm… that’s quite impressive,” he praised before giving Thor a pleased look and turning around to lead the family back toward the palace.

 

Erik wanted to yell at the back of the man’s head, _“Don’t praise my father for that – he asked me how to spell ‘orange’ the other day!”_ , but his mother whispered to him,

 

“Where did you learn to say that?”

 

“Dictionary.com” Erik whispered back.

 

oooooooo

 

Later that evening, after Thor had taken care of his duties and the family had been fed and watered, Loki was putting his children down for bed. They were staying in his father’s old chambers and had dragged in some extra sleeping cots because Loki still refused to let his children out of his sight.

 

Valki was already tucked under the covers of her cot and was snoozing peacefully with a smile on her face, no doubt dreaming about running around with her toy Mjolnir.

 

Thor was in the restroom washing up and Loki was gently humming to Ragni in his little crib to coax the child into slumber. After those tiny, baby eyes had slipped shut and Ragni’s breathing was slow and peaceful, Loki fondly stroked his cheek a few times, placed Rok in his hands and went out onto the balcony of Thor’s room where Erik was observing the city.

 

He came up silently to stand next to his child and leaned on the edge of the railing. “It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” Loki asked softly.

 

Erik nodded as his eyes swept over the incredible immensity and splendor of Asgard. His parents’ descriptions had not done it justice, as they had told them they would not.

 

The pair stood in silence like that for a few minutes before Thor’s voice came from behind them, “Erik, you should wash up for bed,” before he disappeared back inside the chambers.

 

The ten-year old turned to follow his father when a hand reached out and grabbed his shoulder, stopping him.

 

Erik turned back to see his mother kneeling in front of him. Immediately he was swept into a tight, loving embrace that he had actually be anticipating. The child brought his own arms up to wrap around his mother’s waist as he squeezed him back.

 

“Thank you,” Loki whispered into his hair as he held his son tighter.

 

Even though it was a tender moment, Erik was now and forever his mother’s son and therefore a master of sass, so he answered, “For what?”

 

His mother gave a soft laugh at that and pulled back so he could look Erik in the eyes. “For being you,” he replied fondly, before leaning forward and pressing a kiss to his child’s forehead.

 

Erik wanted to hug his mother some more and say things like “He won’t take us away!” and “I’ll get you other children back someday, I promise!” but he couldn’t say these things. Instead, he just grinned and winked at his mother before going to wash up for bed.

 

oooooooo

 

After his child had gone back inside, Loki stood back up and leaned on the railing again. It was painful being here, seeing the place he used to call home when he felt like such an outsider.

 

He could not _believe_ how proud he was of Erik. Loki didn’t like to think of what had possessed his son to go to such lengths to impress the All Father, because it probably meant that Erik was, once again, burdened by more than he should be for such a young boy, but he was still so deliriously proud of his baby that he could have screamed.

 

Loki heard his husband return to the balcony, and when he felt those strong arms wrap around him from behind and that familiar scruff nuzzling at his neck, he released a sigh he hadn’t realized he’d been holding in.

 

“I’m sorry for the pain this trip has caused you, my love,” Thor whispered against the shell of Loki’s ear before planting a gentle kiss there and squeezing his arms tighter around his husband.

 

The trickster leaned into the embrace and held onto the arms circling him. “It went smoothly, thanks to Erik,” he replied.

 

Loki could feel the thunder god smile against his ear. “Our child is quite remarkable,” he murmured before resuming his nuzzling.

 

“Indeed, he is.”

 

oooooooo 

**Author's Note:**

> :3 He will make a good king.


End file.
